<p>What would you say the biggest differences between those three dorms are? I watched the videos and they all seemed fun and social, but other than location and the singles in macgregor, it's hard to tell what's really different about them. I know they'll be my top 3 choices, I just don't know enough to pick the order! Any opinions?</p>
<p>I would say generally that Baker is significantly more social than MacGregor or Burton-Conner, at least in the sense that they party more in large groups and drink more alcohol in large groups (which is, of course, not the only way to define social). MacGregor and Burton-Conner are both more socially organized along the lines of suites/floors, while Baker has more of a unified dorm culture.</p>
<p>Maybe Laura will have other thoughts on this, but I really see more similarities between MacGregor and Burton-Conner than differences. If I were making a map of MIT dorm culture, I'd put MacGregor and Burton-Conner next to each other. I don't think I'd put Baker next to either.</p>
<p>People in Baker all keep their doors open, and I walk into rooms as a pasttime
We also don't actually have very many "drinking parties", or at least nobody I know goes to them.. that's kind of a myth</p>
<p>Mollie's definitely right on about dorm-wide vs floor-wide socializing. Bakerites respond to "where do you live?" with "Baker," whereas BC residents are more likely to respond with "Conner 2/Burton4/whatever." Also, I wouldn't map Baker near BC or MacGregor in terms of culture either. I actually tied Baker and BC as my first choice over the summer, and then I got here and was like "whoa...not...really." There's nothing wrong with Baker, it's just that in retrospect it totally would not have been in my top choices- not the place for me at all.</p>
<p>I don't know nearly enough about Baker and MacGregor to go comparing them all, so what I will say is that the thing that I like most about BC is its diversity. Some dorms have the stereotype of being where all the nerds/MIT stereotypes/frat guys/course 18 majors/course 15 majors/whatever live. And while stereotypes are bad...these kinds of statements do have some element of truth to them, because people get to choose where they live, so plenty of course 18 majors are attracted to the dorm that stereotypically has lots of course 18 majors. I like BC because we're a bunch of varsity athletes, course 15 majors, hackers, and stereotypical MIT nerds in one big schizophrenic mess, and I love it. So in terms of MIT culture, I'd put BC in the middle of the map, which is what makes it the right place for me.</p>
<p>Plus, keep in mind that this is what REX is for- you can always move around. I have a friend who made her way right down the row- she was temped in MacGregor, moved to BC after the readjustment lottery, and transferred to Baker during IAP re-rooming. So don't worry about it too much, just pick BC and decide later. ;-)</p>